| "Somebody's Watching You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Little Sister | ||||
| A-side | "Somebody's Watching You" | |||
| B-side | "Stanga" | |||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Label | Stone Flower 45-9001 | |||
| Composer(s) | Sylvester Stewart | |||
| Producer(s) | Sly Stone | |||
| Little Sister singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Somebody's Watching You" is a song by Sly and the Family Stone. It was a single for Little Sister in 1970. It became a hit for the group and registered in the Billboard and Cash Box charts.
This single was a follow up to Little Sister's previous single, "You're the One". [1] Composed by Sylvester Stewart, [2] it was previously recorded by Sly and the Family Stone and appeared on the group's 1969 Stand! album [3]
The recording by Little Sister was reviewed in the November 7, 1970 issue of Record World where it was a four star pick with the reviewer calling it "perfect". [4] It was also at no. 26 in the magazine's Singles Coming Up chart that week. [5]
The song made number 16 on the Cash Box Top Hits of the Year list. [6]
"Stanga" charted as well and made it to no. 44 on the Billboard Soul chart. [7]
The November 14 issue of Record World reported that the record was getting played on KATZ in St. Louis. [8]
On the week of January 23, 1971, Record World reported the song at #13 on WAYS; #14 on WQXI; #8 on WBBQ ; #10 on KXOK ; #14 on WSAI; #24 on WRKO; and #11 on WHBQ. It was also on CKLW, WLS, KRLA, KHJ. [9]
For the week of October 31, 1970, the single debuted at no. 34 on the Record World Singles Coming Up chart. [10] [11] On November 14, the single was at no. 7 on the Record World One Stop Top Ten chart, Nor Cal section. [12] It also peaked at no. 7 on the Record World R&B chart on January 23, 1971. [13] [14]
On the week of November 28, the single made its debut in the Cash Box Looking Ahead chart at no. 28. [15] [16] It also debuted that week at no. 54 in the Cash Box Top 60 in R and B Locations chart. [17]
On the week of December 5, and at is second week in the Looking Ahead chart, it got to no. 21. [18] On the week of December 12, it made its debut at no. 78 in the Cash Box Top 100. [19]
On the week of January 23, 1971, it peaked at no. 19 in the Top 60 in R and B Locations chart. [20] [21] [22] On the week of February 13, 1971 it peaked at no. 22 in the Cash Box Top 100. [23] [24]
On the Billboard Hot 100, it reached no. 32 and peaked at no. 8 on the Billboard soul singles chart. [25]
A version was recorded by U.F.O. and released on the Semp label. [26] Al Jarreau recorded a version which appeared on a release in 1976. Black Uhuru recorded a version that was released in 1984. Eternity's Children recorded a version that was released in 2003. [27] Clarence Burke recorded a live version that was released in 2011, [28] and Marcus Shelby had a version that was released in 2014. [29] The song also appeared on a 1979 compilation by Climax. Reissued in 2014 on another compilation. [30] [31] SFJazz Collective had a live version that appeared on a release in 2020. [32]